Pacific Heights (1990 film)
Encyclopedia
Pacific Heights is a 1990
thriller film directed by John Schlesinger
and starring Melanie Griffith
, Matthew Modine
, and Michael Keaton
. Griffith's real-life mother Tippi Hedren
has a cameo as a rich older woman who is conned by Keaton's character. The original music score was composed by Hans Zimmer
. The film's tagline is: "It seemed like the perfect house. He seemed like the perfect tenant. Until they asked him to leave."
), who is in bed with a woman (Beverly D'Angelo
), is suddenly attacked by hired thugs who tell him to leave town or face worse consequences.
An unmarried couple, Patty Palmer (Melanie Griffith
) and Drake Goodman (Matthew Modine
) buy a $750,000-plus polychrome
house in the exclusive San Francisco
neighborhood of Pacific Heights, where they renovate it and plan to rent the two apartments on the first floor to cover most of the monthly mortgage.
Hayes has all the trappings of a good tenant. In reality, he is a con artist who does not pay either the rent or the security deposit, and changes the locks on all the doors.
In short order, Hayes causes the couple all sorts of trouble through scare tactics, verbal baiting and turning his own apartment into a dark, cockroach-infested den. It is all part of an elaborate scheme to use California tenant laws against the owners and obtain the property cheaply.
The constant stress causes Patty to have a miscarriage
. Drake then assaults Hayes, who takes out a restraining order
against him. Drake is shot by Hayes, who is not incriminated due to Drake's disobeying the restraining order.
Hayes then vanishes almost without a trace, stealing Drake's identity. Patty becomes determined to have revenge. She searches what remains of the apartment and is able to track down Hayes and his new con game in Los Angeles that involves a wealthy widow (Tippi Hedren
).
Patty poses as Carter's wife in order to get into his hotel room. She charges expensive room service on his credit cards and then has Drake call in to have them declared stolen. Carter is arrested. He is able to charm his way out of jail and returns to the Pacific Heights apartment to ambush Patty, but she manages to kill him with some help from Drake, who actually was assaulted by Carter but survived.
aggregator site, with 10 out of 23 critics giving the film a positive review. Janet Maslin
of the New York Times characterized the film as "perhaps the first eviction thriller," writing that it "taps into a previously unexplored subject, the source of so much excitement and so many conversational gambits within young urban professional circles. It is, of course, real estate." Roger Ebert
called the film "a horror film
for yuppie
s", and said the script relied on too many horror clichés, such as the dark basement or murder of a family pet. Owen Gleiberman
of Entertainment Weekly
agreed, writing, "the actors are stranded with a perfunctory, deadwood script that's all concept and no follow-through." And Desson Howe of the Washington Post summed up the film this way: "This is a yuppie conceit; this is not interesting to human beings."
However, Chris Hicks of the Salt Lake City Deseret News was among the critics who praised the acting, especially of Keaton, and found enjoyment in having Patty getting her revenge on a man who had manipulated the law to wreck her dreams and hurt the man she loved. In contrast, the Washington Posts Howe criticized Modine's acting, remarking that as he "... goes from clean cut boyfriend to arrested, frothing debtor in screen minutes, loses his cool so easily and maniacally, you wonder if he'll turn out to be the real psycho."
This film was listed as #94 on Bravo's The 100 Scariest Movie Moments.
in San Francisco, specifically at the corner of 19th and Texas Street.
edition of the film was released in 1999 by Warner Home Video
and includes only a trailer for the film.
1990 in film
The year 1990 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* CGI technique is expanded with motion capture for CGI characters, used in Total Recall .* The first digitally-manipulated matte painting is used, in Die Hard 2....
thriller film directed by John Schlesinger
John Schlesinger
John Richard Schlesinger, CBE was an English film and stage director and actor.-Early life:Schlesinger was born in London into a middle-class Jewish family, the son of Winifred Henrietta and Bernard Edward Schlesinger, a physician...
and starring Melanie Griffith
Melanie Griffith
Melanie Richards Griffith is an American actress. She is an Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe winner for her performance in the 1988 film Working Girl...
, Matthew Modine
Matthew Modine
Matthew Avery Modine is an award-winning American actor. His film roles include Private Joker in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, the title character in Alan Parker's Birdy, high school wrestler Louden Swain in Vision Quest, football star turned spy Alec McCall in Funky Monkey and the...
, and Michael Keaton
Michael Keaton
Michael John Douglas , better known by the stage name Michael Keaton, is an American actor known for his early comedic roles, most notably his performance as the title character of Tim Burton's Beetlejuice . Keaton is also famous for his dramatic portrayal of Bruce Wayne/Batman in Tim Burton's...
. Griffith's real-life mother Tippi Hedren
Tippi Hedren
Nathalie Kay "Tippi" Hedren is an American actress and former fashion model with a career spanning six decades. She is primarily known for her roles in two Alfred Hitchcock films, The Birds and Marnie, and her extensive efforts in animal rescue at Shambala Preserve, an wildlife habitat which she...
has a cameo as a rich older woman who is conned by Keaton's character. The original music score was composed by Hans Zimmer
Hans Zimmer
Hans Florian Zimmer is a German film composer and music producer. He has composed music for over 100 films, including critically acclaimed film scores for The Lion King , Crimson Tide , The Thin Red Line , Gladiator , The Dark Knight and Inception .Zimmer spent the early part of his career in the...
. The film's tagline is: "It seemed like the perfect house. He seemed like the perfect tenant. Until they asked him to leave."
Plot summary
Carter Hayes (Michael KeatonMichael Keaton
Michael John Douglas , better known by the stage name Michael Keaton, is an American actor known for his early comedic roles, most notably his performance as the title character of Tim Burton's Beetlejuice . Keaton is also famous for his dramatic portrayal of Bruce Wayne/Batman in Tim Burton's...
), who is in bed with a woman (Beverly D'Angelo
Beverly D'Angelo
Beverly Heather D'Angelo is an American actress and singer.-Early life:D'Angelo was born in Columbus, Ohio, the daughter of Priscilla , a violinist, and Gene D'Angelo, a bass player and television station manager. She is of part Italian ancestry...
), is suddenly attacked by hired thugs who tell him to leave town or face worse consequences.
An unmarried couple, Patty Palmer (Melanie Griffith
Melanie Griffith
Melanie Richards Griffith is an American actress. She is an Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe winner for her performance in the 1988 film Working Girl...
) and Drake Goodman (Matthew Modine
Matthew Modine
Matthew Avery Modine is an award-winning American actor. His film roles include Private Joker in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, the title character in Alan Parker's Birdy, high school wrestler Louden Swain in Vision Quest, football star turned spy Alec McCall in Funky Monkey and the...
) buy a $750,000-plus polychrome
Painted ladies
"Painted ladies" is a term used for Victorian and Edwardian houses and buildings painted in three or more colors that embellish or enhance their architectural details. The term was first used for San Francisco Victorian houses by writers Elizabeth Pomada and Michael Larsen in their 1978 book...
house in the exclusive San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
neighborhood of Pacific Heights, where they renovate it and plan to rent the two apartments on the first floor to cover most of the monthly mortgage.
Hayes has all the trappings of a good tenant. In reality, he is a con artist who does not pay either the rent or the security deposit, and changes the locks on all the doors.
In short order, Hayes causes the couple all sorts of trouble through scare tactics, verbal baiting and turning his own apartment into a dark, cockroach-infested den. It is all part of an elaborate scheme to use California tenant laws against the owners and obtain the property cheaply.
The constant stress causes Patty to have a miscarriage
Miscarriage
Miscarriage or spontaneous abortion is the spontaneous end of a pregnancy at a stage where the embryo or fetus is incapable of surviving independently, generally defined in humans at prior to 20 weeks of gestation...
. Drake then assaults Hayes, who takes out a restraining order
Restraining order
A restraining order or order of protection is a form of legal injunction that requires a party to do, or to refrain from doing, certain acts. A party that refuses to comply with an order faces criminal or civil penalties and may have to pay damages or accept sanctions...
against him. Drake is shot by Hayes, who is not incriminated due to Drake's disobeying the restraining order.
Hayes then vanishes almost without a trace, stealing Drake's identity. Patty becomes determined to have revenge. She searches what remains of the apartment and is able to track down Hayes and his new con game in Los Angeles that involves a wealthy widow (Tippi Hedren
Tippi Hedren
Nathalie Kay "Tippi" Hedren is an American actress and former fashion model with a career spanning six decades. She is primarily known for her roles in two Alfred Hitchcock films, The Birds and Marnie, and her extensive efforts in animal rescue at Shambala Preserve, an wildlife habitat which she...
).
Patty poses as Carter's wife in order to get into his hotel room. She charges expensive room service on his credit cards and then has Drake call in to have them declared stolen. Carter is arrested. He is able to charm his way out of jail and returns to the Pacific Heights apartment to ambush Patty, but she manages to kill him with some help from Drake, who actually was assaulted by Carter but survived.
Reception
The film received mixed reviews from critics and has a 43% rating on the Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
aggregator site, with 10 out of 23 critics giving the film a positive review. Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for The New York Times. She served as the Times film critic from 1977–1999.- Biography :...
of the New York Times characterized the film as "perhaps the first eviction thriller," writing that it "taps into a previously unexplored subject, the source of so much excitement and so many conversational gambits within young urban professional circles. It is, of course, real estate." Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
called the film "a horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
for yuppie
Yuppie
Yuppie is a term that refers to a member of the upper middle class or upper class in their 20s or 30s. It first came into use in the early-1980s and largely faded from American popular culture in the late-1980s, due to the 1987 stock market crash and the early 1990s recession...
s", and said the script relied on too many horror clichés, such as the dark basement or murder of a family pet. Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman is an American film critic for Entertainment Weekly, a position he has held since the magazine's launch in 1990. From 1981–89, he worked at the Boston Phoenix....
of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
agreed, writing, "the actors are stranded with a perfunctory, deadwood script that's all concept and no follow-through." And Desson Howe of the Washington Post summed up the film this way: "This is a yuppie conceit; this is not interesting to human beings."
However, Chris Hicks of the Salt Lake City Deseret News was among the critics who praised the acting, especially of Keaton, and found enjoyment in having Patty getting her revenge on a man who had manipulated the law to wreck her dreams and hurt the man she loved. In contrast, the Washington Posts Howe criticized Modine's acting, remarking that as he "... goes from clean cut boyfriend to arrested, frothing debtor in screen minutes, loses his cool so easily and maniacally, you wonder if he'll turn out to be the real psycho."
This film was listed as #94 on Bravo's The 100 Scariest Movie Moments.
Location
The story location of the film Pacific Heights (1990) is set in Pacific Heights area of San Francisco. However, the true filmed location of the focal house in the film, is located on Potrero HillPotrero Hill, San Francisco, California
Potrero Hill is a hilly neighborhood in San Francisco, California.-Location:Potrero Hill is located on the eastern side of the city, east of the Mission District and south of SOMA and the newly designated district . It is roughly bordered by 16th Street to the north, Potrero Avenue and U.S...
in San Francisco, specifically at the corner of 19th and Texas Street.
DVD
The DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
edition of the film was released in 1999 by Warner Home Video
Warner Home Video
Warner Home Video is the home video unit of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., itself part of Time Warner. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video . The company launched in the United States with twenty films on VHS and Betamax videocassettes in late 1979...
and includes only a trailer for the film.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Melanie Griffith Melanie Griffith Melanie Richards Griffith is an American actress. She is an Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe winner for her performance in the 1988 film Working Girl... |
Patty Palmer |
| Matthew Modine Matthew Modine Matthew Avery Modine is an award-winning American actor. His film roles include Private Joker in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, the title character in Alan Parker's Birdy, high school wrestler Louden Swain in Vision Quest, football star turned spy Alec McCall in Funky Monkey and the... |
Drake Goodman |
| Michael Keaton Michael Keaton Michael John Douglas , better known by the stage name Michael Keaton, is an American actor known for his early comedic roles, most notably his performance as the title character of Tim Burton's Beetlejuice . Keaton is also famous for his dramatic portrayal of Bruce Wayne/Batman in Tim Burton's... |
Carter Hayes |
| Laurie Metcalf Laurie Metcalf Lauren Elizabeth "Laurie" Metcalf is an American actress. She is widely known for her performance as Jackie Harris on the ABC sitcom Roseanne, Mary Cooper on The Big Bang Theory, the voice of Mrs. Davis in the Toy Story film series and as Debbie Salt in Scream 2... |
Stephanie MacDonald |
| Mako | Toshio Watanabe |
| Nobu McCarthy Nobu McCarthy Nobu McCarthy was a Japanese Canadian actress, stage director, and fashion model.-Early life:McCarthy was born Nobu Atsumi in Ottawa, Ontario, the daughter of Yuki and Masaji Atsumi, a Japanese fashion designer and diplomatic attache stationed in Canada at the time. She was raised in Japan, where... |
Mira Watanabe |
| Dorian Harewood Dorian Harewood W. Dorian Harewood is an American actor. He first garnered attention for his portrayal of Simon Haley in the ABC miniseries Roots: The Next Generations.-Career:... |
Dennis Reed |
| Tippi Hedren Tippi Hedren Nathalie Kay "Tippi" Hedren is an American actress and former fashion model with a career spanning six decades. She is primarily known for her roles in two Alfred Hitchcock films, The Birds and Marnie, and her extensive efforts in animal rescue at Shambala Preserve, an wildlife habitat which she... |
Florence Peters |
| Beverly D'Angelo Beverly D'Angelo Beverly Heather D'Angelo is an American actress and singer.-Early life:D'Angelo was born in Columbus, Ohio, the daughter of Priscilla , a violinist, and Gene D'Angelo, a bass player and television station manager. She is of part Italian ancestry... (uncredited) |
Ann Miller |
| Carl Lumbly | Lou Baker |
| Sheila McCarthy Sheila McCarthy Sheila McCarthy is a Canadian film, stage, television actress, and singer. She is one of the most honoured actors in Canada, having won two Genie Awards , two Gemini Awards , and two Dora Awards among multiple nominations. As of 2007, she can be seen on the Canadian television series Little... |
Liz Hamilton |
| Luca Bercovici | Greg |
| Jerry Hardin Jerry Hardin Jerry Hardin is an American actor who has made many television and film appearances. He played illegitimate heir, Wild Bill Westchester, in the failed 1982 television series Filthy Rich. One of his most recognizable roles was that of the character Deep Throat in the series The X-Files... |
Bennett Fidlow |
| Dan Hedaya Dan Hedaya Daniel G. “Dan” Hedaya is an American character actor. He often plays sleazy villains or uptight, wisecracking individuals; three of his best-known roles are as Italian Mafia boss Tony Costello in Wise Guys, a cuckolded husband in the Coen brothers' crime thriller Blood Simple, and the scheming... |
Loan Officer |
| Guy Boyd Guy Boyd (actor) Guy Boyd is an American character actor. He has starred in over fifty films from the late 1970s to the present. He is probably best known for his role as Detective Jim McLean in Brian De Palma's thriller Body Double... |
Warning Cop |
| Nicholas Pryor Nicholas Pryor Nicholas Pryor is an American film and television actor.Pryor was born Nicholas David Probst in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Dorothy and J. Stanley Probst, a pharmaceutical manufacturer.... |
Hotel Manager |
| Tracey Walter Tracey Walter Tracey Walter is an American character actor. He has appeared in over 100 films and television shows.-Life and career:Walter was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, the son of a truck driver.... |
Exterminator |
| James Staley | District Attorney |
| F. William Parker F. William Parker F. William Parker is an American character actor.He appeared in the following television series: The West Wing , NYPD Blue, The X Files, Seinfeld, Murphy Brown, Wings, Newhart, Alice, General Hospital, Dynasty, Taxi, Barney Miller, Archie Bunker's Place, CHiPs, The Jeffersons, Laverne & Shirley,... |
Judge |
| O-Lan Jones O-Lan Jones O-Lan Jones is an American actress. Her name came from the novel The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck.-Selected Filmography:-References:... |
Hotel Maid |
| Miriam Margolyes Miriam Margolyes Miriam Margolyes, OBE is an English actress and voice artist. Her earliest roles were in theatre and after several supporting roles in film and television she won a BAFTA Award for her role in The Age of Innocence .-Early life:... |
Realtor |
| J.P. Bumstead | 1st Deputy Sheriff |
| Hal Landon Jr. | 2nd Deputy Sheriff |
| D.W. Moffett D.W. Moffett Donald Warren Moffett is an American actor known for the recurring role of Joe McCoy on the NBC series Friday Night Lights since 2008, and as Dean Winston on The WB series, For Your Love.-Early life:... |
Bill |
| Barbara Tyson Barbara Tyson Barbara Tyson is a Canadian actress known for appearing in hit TV series Cold Squad, ER and The Twilight Zone.-Filmography:*Wolf Canyon as Carol / Mayor Wyatt*Revolution as Anna... |
Amy |